1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning device and a cleaning method for a thermal printer.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
There has been known a thermal printer in which an image is thermally recorded by heating a thermal head. A platen roller is disposed at a position of facing the thermal head. In the thermal printer, there are a thermal recording type (a thermal printer) using a thermal recording paper (hereinafter referred to as a recording paper) and a thermal transfer type using an ink ribbon for transferring. In the thermal printer, the recording paper is sandwiched between the thermal head and the platen roller so that the thermal head presses the recording paper to thermally record the image on the recording paper being fed.
Since the thermal head is heated to a high temperature, a protective layer of a surface of the recording paper is softened, so that a part of the protective layer is adhered to the thermal head as foreign matters leading to deterioration of the image. The thermal head is cleaned in order to remove the foreign matters. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications No. 5-138992, a cleaning sheet on which a polishing material is applied is fed to the printer instead of the recording paper. When the cleaning sheet passes on the thermal head through a feeding path, it scrapes the foreign matters adhered to the thermal head.
However, in the cleaning method using the cleaning sheet, a user has to load the cleaning sheet in the printer. Although it is ideal that the thermal head is regularly cleaned, the loading operation for the cleaning sheet is troublesome, so that the user is apt to neglect the cleaning.